3 teens charged as adults in death of Lamar gradFORT SMITH — Three teenagers have been charged as adults in the shooting death of a Lamar native University of Arkansas at Fort Smith student last week. One boy, age 15, and two 16-year-old boys are charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and two counts of aggravated robbery in the Saturday shooting death of Kaleb Watson, 22. Court documents stated the three admitted to making plans to rob Watson, who was a neighbor of one of the suspects...

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Officer accused of stealing pills from inmateA former corrections officer who handed out medicine to inmates at the Pope County Detention Center allegedly admitted to stealing six Oxycodone pills intended for an inmate's treatment, according to a report. James Henry, 28, appeared in Pope County District Court for an Aug. 19 offense of drug paraphernalia fraud. Henry allegedly handed out evening and morning medications to the inmates during the period of time when an inmate's prescription...

Bond hearingsThe following individuals appeared during felony bond hearings conducted by District Judge Don Bourne on Friday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, they will appear March 7 in Pope County Circuit Court. • Stephanie Mejia, 32, criminal mischief — $5,000. According to a detective with the Russellville Police Department (RPD), Pope County 911 received a call about a ...

Department begins using drug drop boxIn a step to reduce the availability of prescription drugs to those other than whom they're prescribed, the Clarksville Police Department (CPD) has set up a prescription drug drop box for people to dispose of their drugs. “We had a lot of people coming in wanting to get rid of old prescription pills, and they didn't know what to do,” said Larry Boggs, CPD public information officer. “The Johnson County Sheriff's Office has a drop box and has b...

Metropolitan EMS to buy body armor for Little Rock medics LITTLE ROCK — Four days after the fatal shooting of a central Arkansas firefighter, the Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services has made plans to buy ballistic vests for its medics. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/1PDGdTD ) that the proposal received strong support at the Little Rock Ambulance Authority meeting Tuesday. At the meeting, the agency's director of operations showed a lightweight ballistic vest made of Kevlar f...

Fort Smith police search for 2 juveniles in fatal shooting FORT SMITH — Authorities are searching for two teenage brothers in the off-campus shooting death of a University of Arkansas at Fort Smith student. Police say 22-year-old Kaleb Watson was shot Saturday during a suspected robbery at a home in Fort Smith. He later died at a hospital. On Tuesday, police said they were searching for two brothers in connection with the home invasion and shooting death. Fort Smith police say the 16-year-old and 15-y...

Warrior Nation mourns loss of Kaleb WatsonLAMAR — When two unidentified men shot and killed Lamar graduate and University of Arkansas-Fort Smith student Kaleb Watson, they couldn’t have known their actions would send a ripple of grief across Warrior Nation. “There’s no way to convey it,” David Meador, a guidance counselor at Lamar High School, said. “Those guys [the suspects], whatever they were after — who knows? They don’t realize what they took in the process. He’s the kind of kid ...

Supreme Court ruling could affect 50 Arkansas inmates LITTLE ROCK — A U.S. Supreme Court ruling issued Monday will allow more than 50 Arkansas inmates serving life sentences without parole for murders they committed as juveniles a chance to one day be free, but how that will happen is still in question. The court issued its ruling on a case involving Henry Montgomery, imprisoned for more than half a century for the fatal shooting of a Louisiana sheriff's deputy in 1963 when he was 17. The Supreme...

Girl, 17, fatally shot at Little River County birthday party ASHDOWN, Ark. — An Arkansas prosecutor says a 17-year-old girl has died after she was shot at a birthday party in Little River County. Ninth Judicial District Prosecutor Bryan Chesshir says Caitlin Caskey was shot once in the upper body around 9:30 p.m. Saturday when a 41-year-old woman waived and fired an AR-15 rifle in a roomful of kids at a home in Wallace, near Ashdown. The Texarkana Gazette (http://bit.ly/20qBR3L ) reports that Caskey was...

Wards arrested, released on bondSidney Lee Ward, 69, and Donna Ward 41, both of Belleville, surrendered to Sheriff’s investigators on Monday. Yell County Sheriff Bill Gilkey announced Monday the arrest of the two individuals stemming from an investigation conducted by the Arkansas Legislative Audit at the request of Prosecuting Attorney Tom Tatum II of Danville. Chief Deputy John Foster said that the investigation began in August 2015, after questions arose about financial a...

Wards surrender to Yell County Sheriff InvestigatorsSheriff Bill Gilkey announced that former EMS director and bookkeeper Sidney Lee Ward, 69, and Donna Ward, 41, surrendered to Sheriff's Investigators early Monday. The Wards are alleged to have taken over $680,000 in unauthorized funds from Yell County EMS. More on this story as it develops.

Police Beat (Jan 25, 2016)• Dardanelle Police officers responded last weekend to an argument at the parking lot of the La Casa Del sol restaurant at 1079 State Highway 28 and 7 North. Officer Jeff Kisor received prior to his arrival a male was hanging on the side of a moving vehicle in an attempt to keep the female driving the car from leaving the parking lot. The officer reported this started over an argument about exchange of property. The officer oversaw the exchang...

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Compiled by Sean IngramThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Kauffeld murder trial continuedThe capital murder trial of Fred Kauffeld, 51, charged with the May 15, 2015, shooting death of Johnson County Reserve Deputy Sonny Smith will not start today and has been postponed. Originally scheduled for Monday through Friday, Fifth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons said Kauffeld’s attorney, Bill James of Little Rock, requested another mental evaluation for his client. Gibbons said he would announce another trial date th...

Lamar High School graduate fatally shot in Fort SmithFORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) — A college student in Fort Smith has been fatally shot. Fort Smith police say 22-year-old Kaleb Watson was shot at a north Fort Smith residence around 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Authorities say two men wearing black clothing and ski masks attempted to rob him and a woman at gunpoint. An altercation ensued between an armed suspect and the victim, which resulted in multiple gun shots fired. Police received a call regarding a shoo...

Bond hearingsThe following individuals appeared during felony bond hearings conducted by District Judge Don Bourne Friday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, they will appear Feb. 29 in Pope County Circuit Court. •Robert Pearson, 28, possession with the purpose to deliver — $12,500. At 1:19 p.m. on Thursday, an Arkansas State Police (ASP) trooper stopped the suspect near the 7...

Yell County EMS audit releasedDANVILLE — An audit report by the Arkansas Legislative Audit (ALA) of former Yell County EMS director Sidney Ward and his wife and former EMS bookkeeper Donna Ward revealed unauthorized and undocumented payments totaling $680,175 from 2010 through 2015. For the period of Jan. 1, 2010, through Aug. 31, 2015, $528,646 was paid to Sidney Ward, $119,686 was paid to Donna Ward and $31,843 was paid in health insurance premiums on behalf of Donna War...

Auditors find more than $680,000 gap at Yell County EMS unit DANVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas auditors say a couple who worked for Yell County Emergency Medical Services received more than $680,000 in undocumented or unauthorized payments. The report released Thursday by the Arkansas Legislative Audit says director Sidney Ward was overpaid nearly $529,000 from January 2010 to August 2015. His wife, bookkeeper Donna Ward, received nearly $120,000. The report says Donna Ward's dependents also improperly rec...

Sheriffs beat• Pope County Sheriff’s Lt. Jeffery Noyes was told by a Russellville man that a $300 tile saw was taken from a residence on Old Baptist Cemetery Road last weekend, according to a report. • Deputy Joseph Turner arrested an Atkins man, 29, at a residence on Stark Road and cited him for second-degree criminal mischief and disorderly conduct Jan. 11. A report stated Pope County Dispatch indicated the man was hitting his mother’s truck with a hamme...

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Compiled by Sean IngramThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

State prisoners allowed to grow beards, facial hairLITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Board of Corrections has voted to allow prison inmates to grow facial and head hair of any length without having to prove the action is for religious reasons. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the directive was approved Thursday. In February, the board agreed to allow beards for inmates who could prove a “deeply held” religious belief. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in January last year that Muslim inmate, Gre...

Two pounds of meth confiscated on I-40Three Arizona residents were arrested for trafficking methamphetamine on Interstate 40 Thursday after an Arkansas State Police (ASP) trooper seized two pounds of the drug from the suspects' vehicle as it was bound for Atlanta. According to a report, the trooper conducted a traffic stop for speeding around the 87-eastbound mile marker and reportedly smelled a strong odor of marijuana. During the vehicle search, the trooper first found a glass j...